People go to school to learn things, so it’s not that crazy to expect them to be correct, right? Well, unfortunately, sometimes they might not be. Some ideas, whether coming from peers, other acquaintances there, or even teachers, tend to be far from reality, and quite a few redditors seemingly learned it firsthand.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently shared the facts they were taught to be true in school, but have been disproven in their lifetime. Their answers covered everything from the food pyramid, to calculators, and even George Washington’s teeth, so scroll down to find them on the list below and see what other topics the false information covered.
#1
If you don’t do well you’ll end up being a garbage man. F**k you! Garbage men are awesome and make more that teachers. Also, less likely to get shot on the job.
#2
There’s never been a war fought on Australian soil. 1990’s 3rd grade teacher proclaimed it proudly. Indigenous Australians would beg to differ.
#3
Not my lifetime, but my Mom’s sister was initially forced to write with her right hand, despite being left-handed. Since they went to Catholic school, it was taught, as fact, that being left-handed was something something Devil.
When my Aunt started Grade 1, my Great-Grandfather died a couple weeks into the school year and bequeathed some money to the church and school. The family would not give it to them unless my Aunt was allowed to be left-handed.
Amazingly enough, the Priest, upon prayer and reflection, determined that being left-handed wasn’t a problem anymore. Isn’t that something? That’s how my now 78 year old Aunt changed science at Blessed Sacrament when she was 5 years old.
#4
My primary school teacher told me our bodies can’t make new blood and we’re born with all the blood we’ll ever have. As someone who got nosebleeds I knew it was bollocks. When I questioned that adults are obviously bigger so have more blood she said it’s watered down.
These people teach kids.
#5
That I’d fail in life because I was not good at math.
I always had a hard time with math and physics and chemistry.
Turns out I am just not good with numbers, but succeeded with languages. I have a natural talent for languages. I am a translator and conference interpreter. I work with 5 languages.
My math teacher told my mom I’d never amount to anything if I didn’t master math. I was there and her words scarred me for life. I have been terrified of failure ever since.
#6
That while being on your period you’ll only loose one spoon of blood! That’s such a bs
#7
Pretty much everything about Christopher Columbus.
#8
The United States government prevents abuse of power through a well-engineered system of checks and balances.
#9
If you study well and have excellent grades, you will end up with a nice job and lots of money.
#10
Your permanent record will follow you into adulthood
#11
You won’t always have a calculator on you.
#12
Myers Briggs garbage.
I even fought with my professor about it.
Turns out in the end I was right.
#13
In pharmacy school around the turn of the century we were taught that people in legitimate pain don’t get addicted to opiates and opioids.
#14
All fat was bad for you, thus fat free foods became a thing for a while.
#15
That George Washington’s teeth were made of wood. No. It’s so much worse
#16
Surgery can be performed on very small infants without anesthesia because pain reception isn’t developed yet.
#17
The system/time will take care of putting “bad guys” where they belong.
#18
Carrots are good for night vision.
This was a lie the British used to explain how they could spot German bombers during WWII. The truth, that they had broken the German Enigma machine and were decoding secret messages, was kept a secret for decades. The full story was not told until the 1990s.
I consider the Enigma coverup to be the best kept secret in human history.
#19
I once asked one of my elementary school teachers what a rainbow was, and she told me scientists hadn’t figured it out. I walked around until my early 20s thinking that. Also, I think it was this same teacher who told me Columbus thought the Earth was flat. They were training teachers a different kind of way in the 70s and 80s. It’s honestly one of the reasons I’m thankful for the internet, because depending on your teacher or an outdated encyclopedia for answers could be a real roll of the dice.
You only use 10% of your brain each day.
#21
In grade school they told us that the Titanic would never be found. Not exactly a disproven “fact,” but still amusing that technology has advanced so far in such a relatively short amount of time.
#22
Dinosaurs being cold blooded.
ulcers were from stress (most are from bacteria)
Neanderthals were a less evolved human ancestor
Sugar makes kids hyper
#23
It takes 7 years to digest gum
#24
Pluto not being a planet
#25
Blood is blue until exposed to oxygen, then it turns red.
#26
I learned tongue taste maps at school. Turns out it’s complete nonsense.
#27
Using plastic bags will help save the environment
#28
That male pattern baldness trait passed down from your maternal line. Mom’s side loaded with full heads of hair, however found out early I received zero of the genetics promised.
#29
That we would all but run out of oil by the year 2000
#30
A little bit before my time and most teachers already knew it was wrong but it was still in my third and fourth grade science books since they were dated to when it was still in vogue in the 70s even though we were told to mostly ignore it, but Global Cooling. I imagined massive ice ages by the time I was an adult since I ignored my teachers and read the passages anyway. I was disappointed to find out how wrong it was. Heh.